I accepted a prospective tenant's lease and deposit after doing due diligence. The previous leasing company confirmed the resident had paid their rent on time every time. The tenant paid his deposit in cashier's check...

You never know when you’ll need to refer back to these records, especially in case of a dispute.

@Zeeshan S.The funny thing is that the first two companies came recommended and I tried to vet them and talked to references too.

Even though we do run credit and background, I refer to us as private money lenders rather than hard money lenders based primarily on the cost of capital.

Simply do not renew, which I believe Nathen was referring to 

My guess is you and I agree that in the "mom and pop" space (1 to around 50 units) there are deals to be found regardless of timing.What @Deshen Tang is referring to in his comment here is my decision to sell 3,000 of my 4,000 apartment units 3 years ago, just months before the market for commercial multifamily collapsed and prices fell 30-40 percent. 

Pretty sure she is referring to The Island in Pigeon Forge just off the Parkway near Light #3 (between the Parkway and Teaster). https://islandinpigeonforge.com/

The 100/150-hour rules you’ve seen are likely referring to material participation, which is necessary for short-term rentals (STRs) to be treated as non-passive income.

Perhaps you are referring to a seller carry back? 

@Michael PetersRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.